Madness
by caitb94
Summary: Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push. Based on The Dark Knight. T for Language. No Pairings.
1. The Joker

Gotham city had a high crime rate, and to balance it out, plenty of detectives. My father was one of them. We'd moved her about a year ago when my dad decided it would help his career. His pay was a bit lower, but since he was payed more when he was on a case, we got more income overall.

"Jamie Ashworth!"

"Huh? Sorry dad, I was thinking about something."

"You need to stop losing yourself like that. It's no wonder your grades are so low." He complained.

"My grades are not low! Just because they're not straight A's-!"

He sighed in frustration. "We'll talk about this later. It's dinner time."

We ate in silence. "Can I please be excused?" I asked. He nodded. I threw away my paper plate and escaped back to my room. I turned on my MP3 player, got out my computer and drowned out the world. I finished some HTML coding I'd been working on and got up to go and grab some chips to snack on. I froze in fear.

A man was in my open window. He had halloween looking makeup on, loads of black around his eyes, red around his mouth and white everywhere else. He frowned thoughtfully. "Wrong room." He said.

"Who the hell are you?!" I asked.

He looked over at me as though he hadn't noticed me. "Aren't you that detective's daughter?"

"Wh-what?"

"Jamie right?"

"How do you-?"

There was a knock on my door. "Jamie. I need to talk to you about your grades." It was my dad. I frowned. The man laughed at me. My dad came in regardless of my lack of consent. He took one look at the man and whipped out a gun. I was confused, since when did my father carry weapons? The man frowned again.

"Drop the case." He told my father.

"Why should I listen to you? I'm the one with the gun." He told him.

The man raised an eyebrow. "If you value little Jamie's life you will." I gaped at him. Why was I suddenly involved in this?

"Get out of my house." My father replied.

"This isn't the end." He said showing a cynical grin before letting go of the window and allowing himself to fall to the ground.

My dad turned his attention to me. "Jamie! What the hell did I tell you about closing your windows at night?!"

"I did close it!" I protested. "I must have forgotten to lock it..." I realized.

"Well your little accident almost cost you your life!" He snapped. He stomped over to the window and slammed it closed.

I waited in silence then asked, "Who was that guy...?"

"That man was The Joker." I gave him a confused look but didn't ask any further questions.

I waited a moment then asked, "What are we going to do?"

"You are going to lock your windows and I am going to do my job." I nodded. This didn't seem like enough to me, but I guessed that since he worked with these people, he'd know best.

I went to get those chips and finished the coding I'd been working on before. I saved my work and went to sleep with an undying sense of dread. Somehow, I knew something was coming, and whatever it was, it wasn't pleasant.

--

"Jamie! Wake up!" I groaned and turned over.

"What dad?" I asked grogily.

"You need to get up and go to school."

"I don't want to." I replied.

"You have to." He said with a frustrated sigh.

"What if that Joker guy tries to kill me?"

"You'll be fine. I've done what I need to. Now it's your turn." I had no clue what he was talking about, but I knew there was no getting out of school today. I threw back the covers and sat up. I stared at my dad until he left then got dressed. I wore the typical school uniform; an unflattering skirt and button up, collared shirt. I put on some light makeup but didn't bother to brush my hair. I went out of my room, grabbed a breakfast bar, packed my bag and left. My dad called a goodbye after me. I waved behind me without a glance.

"What the hell did my dad do?" I asked myself. I figured that there was nothing I could do except walk to school.

Then it happened. "What the hell are you wearing?" I heard a laugh. I flipped around. It was the same man from yesterday. I scowled. This was happening far too fast.

"It's uniform, okay?" I snapped. The Joker look behind me. I turned around to look myself. There was a man with a gun behind me. Was this what my dad had meant?

The Joker pulled out a large gun and pointed it at me. "Drop the gun." the man said.

The Joker laughed manically. "I was about to ask you to do the same thing. Drop the damn gun or she's dead." The man held his ground.

"Drop it!" I said frantically. I did _not _want to get killed. The man laid the gun on the ground and kicked it to the side.

"Thanks Jamie." The Joker said. I looked at him and realized my mistake. Wasn't he going to kill me anyways? "Now come over here." I winced and shook my head. He frowned and walked over to me instead. He grabbed my arm with a gloved hand and led me into an alley. There was a car sitting there. He pushed me into the back and hit me in the head. Everything went black.

--

I groaned "Where am I?" I asked to no one in particular. I looked around and realized that I was on a bed in some room. It was well furnished, but I still felt uncomfortable here. I got up and opened the door. I found myself face to chest with the joker. I fell backwards as I recalled what happened. I looked up at my kidnapper and scrambled to pick myself off of the floor.

He laughed. "So you're awake." I stayed silent, not knowing what to say or do.

"Am I going to . . . die?" He laughed again.

"Of course not. Not yet that is. If I killed you now, where would that get me?" He asked as though this whole thing was a joke.

"Why didn't you just take my dad!?" I asked angrily. I was sick of this guy.

"Because I didn't just take you here for that." I looked at him confused. "I need to find out who the Batman is."

"What?" I was completely lost.

"His true identity and his hideout."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Jamie, you are going to figure it out. You will be put into eminent danger and when he grabs you to help you, you put this on him. You see?" He pulled a pale strip out of his pocket.

"A tracker?"

"Exactly. You're catching on." He said with another laugh.

"Wh-what if batman doesn't come?!" I asked, obviously frightened. I was going to be the bait. I didn't want that.

"He will. _He always does_." He said.

--

I found myself in an office building. The Joker'd told me where to go so that I'd be stuck in a burning building waiting for help. I followed the instructions, and ended up in the south-west corridor.

"Where are you going, kid?" I heard behind me. I took a deep breath and turned around.

"I'm here to see my dad." I said with a smile.

"What's his name?" The man asked.

I scrambled to find a name but came up with nothing. I looked down and ran. I ran to the farthest corner and hid there. Then the explosion happened. I screamed. It was loud and extremely frightening. I felt a wave of heat come over me. That was when I asked myself if I'd made a mistake.

"What the hell-?!" It was the man who had caught me before. I snuck a peek over to where I'd heard the cry. I'd wished that I hadn't looked, when I saw that the guy was dead. I was crying now. I didn't want to cry, but I couldn't help it. I nearly went into hysterics when the glass on the other side of the room exploded. I stopped crying for a second and my eyes widened.

_Batman._


	2. Gravity

I simply stared at him in shock. The Joker was right. He said he'd come and he did.

"Come here." He had a strong voice. I stood up and ran over to him. He hoisted me up under his right arm. I held on for dear life. When he grabbed onto the zip-line and began his decent, I pulled the tracker out of my pocket and reached up to placed it on his neck, right under his mask. It was a small skin-colored strip. It was unlikely that it would be noticed.

When he placed me safely on the ground, I realized that I was still crying. The Batman ruffled my hair a bit and said, "It's okay now. Go find your parents." He gave me a light push on the back. It looked like I had been the last person to be rescued.

"Thank you." I said loud enough for him to hear, then I whispered, "I'm sorry." I didn't look back at the damage, I knew I would see bodies. I walked a few blocks and turned into a dark alley.

"Good job Jamie." He smiled. He put his hand on my head and said, "You did good, kid."

"What do we do now?" I asked, purely out of curiousity.

"We wait." He said with a smile.

The Joker got into the car and beconed to me. "Do you have to knock me out again?" I asked.

He laughed. "What do you want me to?" I shook my head and got in.

--

"Could you hack into the government database for me?" He asked.

"Why?"

"I need the use of their satallites." He replied.

"Okay, but they'll easily track your location. Do you have a sheild for your IP?"

"Of course." He said smiling. "I've hacked into their database before. They didn't seem to mindtoo much." He said with a laugh.

"Then why the hell do I need to do it?"

"Eh. Just do it." He said. I raised an eyebrow.

"No. If you've done it you could easily-" He pulled out a knife and held it to my face in one swift movement. I froze in sheer terror. His face was inches from mine.

"You want to know how I got these scars?" He asked.

"N-no." I stuttered, shaking my head, ever so slightly.

"It'd be best if you did what I wanted then."

I did what he said quickly after that.

"Good job." The Joker said. I scowled.

I scowled. He simply laughed. "Who thought up this plan anyways? You've never done anything like this before. Usually, It's all blowing up shit." He laughed again.

He laughed again. "That's what you think."

"I can't get any signal at all. He probably figured it out..." I said.

He pushed me out of the way. "Let me see." He said and scanned around for it himself. He pressed his lips together and slammed his fist down on the desk. I jumped. He took a deep breath and said, "Go back to your room." He sounded like he was trying to hold back the urge murder someone.

--

I spent several days alone. I even ate alone. I wasn't sure if The Joker was wallowing in self pity or figuring out another plan. He didn't seem like the type to dwell on his failures. He was probably thinking up something else.

"Jamie." I heard. I opened my eyes and looked over.

"What?" I asked.

"I need you for my next plan." He said with a cynical grin. I frowned, hoping this wouldn't be like last time. I followed him to his bathroom. He picked up some scissors.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I was afraid that he was going to stab me or slit my throat.

"I'm cutting your hair."

"Wh-what?! My hair looks fine!" I said frantically. I didn't want to get a hair cut.

"I'll explain in a minute. Now if you don't sit still, I'm going to jab these damned scissors into your skull." He threatened. I swallowed and watched in the mirror as I slowly began to look more and more guyish. It didn't make sense, why would I need to cut my hair?

When he was finished, I asked, "What is all this about?!"

"A guy I killed last week had this on him." He pulled out a piece of paper. It was an invitation. "He had a son, _killed him too_, but you'll basically be him tonight." I stared at him in disbelief.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do about this?" I asked pointing at my chest. He pulled some medical wrap from a drawer.

"Eh. Put this on." He said, handing it to me. He turned and walked out the door with this, assuming that I would change. He had left clothes for me to change into too. It was a suit. I put it on and struggled to tie the tie. "Hey Joker, can you-uh-tie this?" I asked. He did so. I stepped back and looked in the mirror. I looked entirely like a young boy. I didn't know how this was going to happen, but I knew I had no choice but to play along.

--

"Lewis."

"Thank you sir. Please, come this way."

This was probably the largest place I'd ever been in. All the wealthiest men and women in Gotham were here. I looked over and saw Bruce Wayne approaching me.

"Have I, seen you somewhere before?" I think my heart stopped. I shook my head. "At that office building accident I think."

"I don't think so, Mr. Wayne, Sir." I said, adding, "Although, I have a twin sister. I haven't seen her since my parents seperated though." He nodded and walked away. I wondered if he actually believed me.

I felt a hand on my head and looked up. "Brace yourself. The fun's just beginning." An explosion came from behind me. I flipped around in shock. The Joker pulled off his latex mask. Underneath, his make-up was smeared slightly. He was grinning madly. I thought I noticed Bruce Wayne sneaking off somewhere. I ignored it, he was probably escaping from this mad house. I couldn't blame him.

I didn't know exactly what to do. The Joker slipped a knife into my hand. I gaped at it. "Come on, kid. Don't act stupid."

"I'm not killing anyone." I said handing the knife back to him. He frowned.

"Fine. The pleasure's mine."

"No. The pleasure's all mine." I looked behind me just as Batman nailed the Joker in the face. The Joker laughed again. They were in a fist fight now. I could do nothing but watch.

"Help me out, kid." I heard him yell to me. He was grinning and didn't look like he was desperate enough to need my help. I shook my head.

"You can do it your damned self!" I yelled back. He leaped behind me and pressed his knife against my lips. I didn't think he wouldn't hesitate to carve out my face.

"Now I'm going to leave." The Joker informed Batman. "But before I go," He put his hand into his pocket and pressed something. The wall behind Batman burst. The Joker walked to the window. He held me to his side and jumped through the glass.

I screamed. I didn't know what else to do. I was terrified of heights. After what seemed like split seconds, we hit something hard and metal. I discoved that it was a tour bus. I looked back at the building. The Joker laughed again. Batman was gliding down towards us.

"You gotta learn how to enjoy yourself more, kid." The Joker yelled over the roar of traffic. "Cause this is damned good fun!"

"Speak for yourself." I muttered. I was sure he couldn't hear me though. Batman landed right in front of us.

"Let her go." He told him.

"What would be the fun in that?" The Joker replied.

A delivery truck drove by. The Joker grabbed my arm and jumped over as it turned right. Batman just watched us drive off. I guess he figured that I'd be okay or something. I wasn't so sure.

--

I was aware of the pain now. Jumping blindly through a window didn't come without consequenses. So here I was, sitting on my bed, pulling out glass with some spare tweasers. I had retreated to my room after my request for a doctor was denied.

"Oww. Shit. Oww." I was starting to wish that I was partially paralized. I managed to get all the main pieces out. I ran my hands over my skin, making sure there was nothing else. I sighed and and went to find the Joker. "Do you have any Band-Aids?" I asked when I found him.

"They're in the bathroom." He said. I noticed that he was in a good mood.

I found them and layed them over each bloodied cut, wincing with the larger ones. I grimaced when I realized that I had bruises forming too. I groaned and found my way back to my room. I fell on the bed and slept for what seemed like days.

--

I was even more sore when I woke up the next day. It didn't make sense to me, but I hoped that The Joker would wait a week or two until he used me for something stupid again. I could only hope though.

Some time later, a thought struck me, couldn't I try to get out of here by myself? I realized that I hadn't even attempted it. I looked at the clock in my room. It was one o'clock AM. I had no clue about the joker's sleeping habits, but I figured that I'd fall asleep if I waited too long. I pulled on my socks and shoes and looked out the door. No one was there. I sneaked down the hallway and tried to find a way out. I had no plan, which frightened me. I found a door. I turned the lock and the handle and opened it. I blinked and stood in disbelief. I shut the door gently behind me and ran off.

--

I had suceeded. I had ditched the Joker. It was at this time that I realized my mistake timing. I was severely injured and out after curfew. I smacked my palm on my forehead and groaned.

I walked along the sidewalk aimlessly, hoping nobody recognized me from the previous night.

"Excuse me, sir." He looked back at me. I almost had a heart-attack when I realized who it was.

"Jamie Ashworth, isn't it?" I swallowed.

"Hello, Mr.Wayne." I replied, looking down.

"Are you working with the Joker?" I shook my head.

"N-no way. I was kidnapped." I remembered my original question. "Where am I? I need to go home. I'm sure my dad's freaked out and-"

"I guess he didn't tell you."

"Tell me what? What did he not tell me?!"

"Your father's work building was blown up a few days ago."

"No. That's not possible." I knew I was denying it, but it was impossible to believe.

"I'm sorry, Jamie, but it's true." I turned from him and ran. This couldn't be happening.

_This is that guy's fault._

I hate him. I hate him. _I hate him._

--

"You ass-hole!!" I yelled as I swung open the door.

"There you are." He acted as though I hadn't said anything.

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. You killed him didn't you?"

"Come on, kid. Don't loose it on me. Killed, who?"

"My dad!" I yelled. I realized that I was crying. Though I couldn't tell whether it was from anger or sadness.

"I did no such thing." He sounded like he was lying through his teeth. He pulled out that all-too-familiar-by-now knife and held in my mouth. "Don't loose it, kid, unless you wanna end up like me."

"I won't be like you no matter what! We're too different! So do what you want!" He raised an eyebrow. _He won't do it._ I told myself. _He would have done it way before if was going to._

The next think I remember was hearing the sound of skin ripping and feeling a horrible pain in my face. I reached up a shaking hand to run it over my face. Blood was everywhere now. I wasn't even sure if it was mine or his. All I knew was I was hitting something with all of my might. I was vaguely aware of a knife in my hand but all I could feel was an unbelievable thrill. I stared at the body. I was out of breath now. I felt myself chuckle. I knew not why, but it was hillarious. It was as though someone had told me a joke. I couldn't stop laughing.

When I managed to stop. I realized that I'd need stitches. I found a sewing kit and sewed myself up. I didn't need doctors. They'd only be in the way. I found the Joker's make-up kit too. I couldn't resist the urge. I smeared the make-up over my face and grinned. This was fun. So much fun. Fun, fun, fun.

I realized that I'd gone mad, but I was to the point where it didn't matter anymore. I looked at the body on the floor and figured that I'd have to clean it up before it started to smell bad. I did what I thought would work best and layed back on the couch. This was mine now. Who cared what the dead guy thought about it. I found myself searching through names of people whom I could kill. I had no reason to murder most of the people on my list. I just wanted to. Simply because it would be fun. I never realized that madness was this much _fun._ It was hard to believe. I watched the blank television screen.

"Evening, Batsy." I looked back at him. He stared at me and shook his head. I didn't care what he did though. All I was thinking of, was how much fun he would be to play with. On and on, forever and ever.

_"Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push."_


End file.
